Rumor: Microsoft Poaching Apple Retail Employees

Recently we learned (via documents leaked to Gizmodo) that Microsoft is modeling its soon-to-come retail stores after Apple’s — installing a “Guru Bar” to copy the Apple Genius service station. But why stop there? The latest rumor is that the software giant has been poaching Apple retail managers, enticing them with big raises and perks to cross over to the Microsoft side.

Sources told The Loop’s Jim Dalrymple that Microsoft is also offering to cover moving expenses for poached managers who must relocate. And once hired, the ex-Apple managers are contacting the top sales people of their respective Apple locations to poach them with higher salaries, too.

This sounds like something Microsoft would do, but will hiring Apple retail employees really help sell more Microsoft products, such as the Zune (which only has 1.1 percent of the MP3 player marketshare)? Perhaps it will, but most likely in a very insignificant way.